I wanna see you be brave
by tails267
Summary: Everyone has a fear, even the valiant knight Sir Galleth Cooper. But when his strange behaviour becomes out of control, Sly steps in only to learn the darker secrets surrounding the raccoon's past within the circus tent.


**Sly Cooper © to Sanzaru games**

"Come young knave, I shall show you around town!" Sir Galleth of the Cooper order swished his future kin towards the door, unable to contain his elation at finally having some equal company.

"Okay speedy, no need to push." Sly showed verbal resistance but allowed his ancestor to usher his form out the hideout door.

"It is a fine evening for a stroll; we should not waste night tide." There really was no stopping Galleth when he got going on something, so Sly just went along with it. They had been in this time a short while now, trying to unravel the mystery of the elusive Black Knight, yet so far it had proved futile. Maybe a calm dusk walk would clear the thief's head.

"Let us take the stone cobbled path! It will provide the most pleasant sights."

Or maybe it would just give him more of a headache.

Galleth seemed happy enough despite the situation facing the not-quite-so-merry medieval village, joyously pointing out landmarks and launching into elaborate tall tales.

"See that sharp spire over there? Climbed that when I was but a snapping kit, it was a tremendous achievement despite the trouble I landed myself into." If there was one thing the valiant knight shamelessly enjoyed, it was showing off to others.

"Over there is the old Blacksmith, it wasn't always that fiery inferno of death you experienced. It used to be a fine establishment run by the most thick-skinned old goat…"

Sly let him rattle on, paying only a smudge of attention to his words. But what he did notice was when the raccoon ceased his waffling, froze momentarily and turned swiftly in the opposite direction they were taking.

"Um, come this way my f-friend, the streets shall be l-less crowded round here away from that d-dratted circus, yes, yes…"

"Okay?" Sly reflected on this particular behaviour and wondered if Galleth knew it was close to moonhigh and that most of the village residents were locked in their homes anyway, but decided not to dwell on it.

Xxxxxxx

Through the days that followed Galleth proceeded this strange behaviour; when stepping out he would only get within meters of the seemingly cursed carnival or would avoid the area all together, even if it meant facing a legion of vicious guards.

Sly only intervened when the gallant raccoon returned one morning with a nasty slash above his left eye.

"Goodness Galleth! What happened out there?" explained Bentley as he entered the hideout.

"Did you get attacked by pigeons? I heard that's quite common in England," added Murray. Galleth brushed them off with his usual show of valour.

"Not quite Sir Murray, I merely had an unpleasant run-in with those unhonourable guards. I shall be back at it momentarily."

"I don't think so," Sly caught him by the shoulder, stopping the knight from reaching the supply cabinet. "You're staying here so Carmelita can have a look at that wound."

"Sire, that is an appreciated but unnecessary action, I will be patched up in a few clicks."

"No you won't, go and see Carmelita."

"But-"

"_Go!"_

He heaved a heavy sigh of defeat and stomped off to Carmelita's quarters, much like a told off child, and disappeared from view. Sly watched him go, feeling the presence of a friend beside him.

"I didn't expect that."

"I know Bentley, but he had to be told." The ring-tailed thief took a seat around the centre table, taking up a position of deep thought. "Galleth can be a reckless toad, but he's not thatreckless. Something is up here."

"I know what you mean."

A crash and a string of apologies came from the direction of Carmelita's place.

"What do you suppose we do with him?"

"I don't know that pal, but I know you'll think of something.

Xxxxxxx

Turned out Sly did think of something. Later on that evening he insisted Galleth joined him on a raid around town, stating that it would 'be great to learn from the greatest knight in Cooper history.' Typically, Galleth agreed, with the modest reply of 'oh, I'm sure there are many things I could also learn from a fellow thief such as yourself.'

With that the two raccoons made their way into the twilight of the town, Sly leading the way up the side of a building.

"So Sly, what dwelling do you have in mind for our darktime plunder?" enquired Galleth curiously.

"You'll see, just follow my lead."

Over rooftops and ropes the able ring-tail led, one destination forged in his mind. The striped tents of doom loomed ahead and it was clear Galleth had noticed too, his actions becoming twitchy and nervous.

"Not to discourage you sire, but that doesn't seem the best place for our caper, way too risky with those flaming rings and canons and such."

"Naw, that's what makes it perfect." Sly touched down in front of the main big top, Galleth clunking reluctantly behind. "See? No problem. We'll be in and out before anyone can raise an arrow."

"In…there?"

"No other way."

A bush rustled behind them, causing both bandits to whirl round at the sound. A plum owl emerged from behind one of the smaller tents dressed in a bright clown outfit, complete with freakish make-up.

"Whoa, when did the freak show come to town?" Sly took it in his stride, but the opposite had to be said of Galleth.

He backed away slowly, lance warily raised, shaking violently under his armour. The clueless bird lumbered cheerfully towards him, completely unaware of the trauma it was causing.

"Welcome one and all to our circus! Front row tickets are available for the next show."

"N-no, s-stay away y-you foulest of b-beasts…" A look of utter horror plastered on his features, it soon became too much for the young knight. Ignoring the voice in his head yelling not to he turned tail and fled from the scene, fur ruffled and eyes wide in their sockets.

Sly watched him flee, mildly surprised the raccoon could move that fast under a heavy suit of armour, but feeling more knowledgeable about what had been causing the strange behaviour. An irritable fear. Now he just needed to find how to go about solving this.

Xxxxxxx

Galleth wasn't sure where he was running to, he just had a dyer instinct to get away from this mad place as fast as possible. Sprinting for about five minutes strait, he found a place to rest in the form of a large old oak tree. Panting from the cold adrenalin coursing through his veins, he collapsed onto the brittle dry leaves filling a hollow halfway up the trunk.

"It seems they have ceased in the following of me."

With relief being his first thought, it eventually gave way to guilt and anger.

"What act of cowardice was that?! You don't deserve to be titled as a Sir you big-"

"Um, Galleth, you up there?"

"Oh…" He paused in his self-argument, not realising he hadbeen followed by someone, regaining a more direct tone.

"I wish to be left alone."

That was the answer Sly had been expecting, but leaving the raccoon to his own punishments would just make the situation worse. Only one thing for it.

Sighing, Sly scaled the thick trunk up to Galleth's hollow and peered into the gloom.

"You come to rub salt deeper into the wound or just to take pleasure in my shame?"

"You know, there was nothing to be ashamed of back there." Carefully Sly squeezed himself into the rather tiny space next to the knight. "Everybody has some kind of fear."

"Yes, but those are of reasonable things, of fire and darkness, not of that ridiculous act I just staged."

"So? You seem to have a dislike of clowns and there must be a reason for it. Does this have something to do with your capture?"

The masked thief had struck a delicate nerve. Galleth tried to twist away, his face a mask of pain and long suffering, but as the space was small he only succeeded in exposing the clear scarlet tint to his muzzle.

"Have you ever wondered Sire, why I never remove my armour?"

That was not a question Sly was prepared for. "Um, I assumed it was because of the constant threat of danger around here."

"I wish it was," He shook his head slowly. "No, it is because of the secrets they hold. The secrets of who I really am."

With a neat preciseness he began to remove the top half of his armour. Sly's eyes grew wide.

"_Wait, is he actually…"_

But it wasn't the fact that the knight now wore nothing on his top half that made the thief's eyes stretch, it was what was left there.

All across Galleth's body were burns and scorch marks, crusty cuts and singed clumps of fur. Mainly scattered down his back and chest, but no part of him seemed to of been spared from these grizzly markings.

"Did…_they _do that to you?"

"Working in that tent was not a pleasant life Sly, things easily went wrong. And when things went wrong, I got it worse." He winced at the memory of flaming irons and trapped fur.

"They humiliated and shamed me, striped me of what I thought would be impossible, so now I must bare the trophies of what they've achieved. I am broken, Sly, broken beyond repair."

"No, I think I get it now." Galleth's head snapped up to look his kin directly in the eye.

"Why you were avoiding the circus and why you never wanted any of us to go there. You're embarrassed by what they've done to you and didn't want anyone to find out, or worse, get captured again."

"You mayhap be correct." His eyes were cast down, confirming the latter.

"Right, and the sighting of the clown earlier triggered something in your head that told you to run away from the thing you most dread."

"You are making a decent point there Sir," Galleth put in. "But I fail to see what it all means."

"You're not broken, Galleth, you just believe so. They left you scarred but you must move on, the best way to do this is to confront that fear and not bottle it up."

"But what will the others think? I shall be the fool of the town should anyone discover this!" He became distressed again, tail bushed and ears flat against his head.

"Tell them the truth, there's no shame in that." Sly offered his advice, the wisdom in his eyes stretching far beyond his years. "You've got nothing to lose, so c'mon, I wanna see you be brave!" As encouragement the ring-tail winked and gave him a supportive thumbs up.

Galleth stared ahead, the proposal sinking in.

"Yes…I believe the time is now!" The knight proclaimed, returning to his old ways. "No more running from unforeseen demons, I shall go forth and confront thee!"

In the rush of his new quest Galleth momentarily forgot he was in a confined space and forcefully smacked his head on the wooden ceiling.

"Yes, but first I _really_ think you should put you armour back on."

Xxxxxxx

True to the knight's words he set forth strait away with this new quest, starting with getting rid of the cause. Urged by Sly, he nervously approached Carmelita as she polished her shock pistol, that stutter that often persists following.

"M-Miss Carmelita, m-may I c-converse with y-you a moment?"

He was left to it, old scars flushed free of grime and fur gratefully scrubbed of the sooty marks left by countless encounters with flaming rings. The Interpol officer was only too happy in lending her skills to retrieve the knight's natural charm. For one thing, she was stunned by the condition Galleth had let himself get in, having already developed a soft spot for the hapless heroic (giant metal hydra aside) but also he had a rather impressive muscular physic under all that metal.

Sly looked on, unable to contain a trickle of jealousy at how gentle Carmelita seemed towards his ancestor, compared to how vicious she acted towards him.

It was later on however that Sly found himself looking out for Galleth again, as the now scrubbed knight had left the hideout in search of his inner demons. And if the thief had learnt one thing on this time travel trip, it was never underestimate a Cooper.

Vaulting over the low roofs of English cottages brought him back to the carnival grounds, where an all too familiar sight greeted him.

There was Galleth, in all his valour, declaring war on all those who inhabit the incused tent. No fear lit his gaze now, only that senseless bravo that often came from jumping into the face of danger. But as Sly observed, he wasn't a bit concerned. The circus occupants would pay no notice to the ranting raccoon outside, he was a well know pest and his threats weren't taken too seriously.

So he left, knowing the knight would only hop about until satisfied he had stuck fear into the hearts of his enemies, continuing his imaginary battles until the time would come where he would need these skills to stay strong. But even though he had a long way to go, he would be brave throughout, and if you could listen to him go on now, you would know that Galleth _couldn't _hold his tongue to save his own life.

**Wow, this turned out a lot different than I planned (but then, things never turn out how I plan XD) There are a lot of headcannons in here, mainly based off the circus level in Thieves in time. Working in the circus must have been an unpleasant experience for Galleth (see those posters hung up around the tent) and those experiences could of left a lasting effect, particularly a phobia or fear of some sort. Also, Carmelita has a small amount of medical experience, working to cure minor injuries within the team while Galleth is plagued by a stutter whenever nervous or confused (I don't know why, I just like the idea). The idea for this story came from the song 'Brave' by Sara Bareilles.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


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